Richmond Chapel Sunday School - 12.8.24

The class focused on whether Christadelphians should participate in voting and political activities. The teacher began by discussing the Rechabites from Jeremiah 35 as an example of a group that maintained distinct religious practices, connecting this to how the Christadelphian name originated in 1864 specifically tied to conscientious objection and abstention from politics.
To illustrate his points, the teacher used the Amish as a contemporary case study of maintaining religious identity through separation from worldly practices. He showed concerning examples of some Amish becoming politically active by supporting Trump, arguing this compromises their distinct identity and risks reducing religious groups to mere "voting blocs."
The teacher presented several arguments against voting, including how all government authority ultimately rests on the threat of violence. He quoted a Catholic priest's argument that voting makes one complicit in governmental violence, and referenced 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 about remaining separate from the world. Throughout the discussion, he emphasized that Christadelphians historically identified themselves by two key principles: conscientious objection and abstention from politics, suggesting that abandoning political abstention could lead to compromising conscientious objection as well.
The main message was that political involvement risks compromising both Christadelphian religious identity and biblical principles of separation from the world. The class concluded with the idea that just as the Amish are recognized by their distinct lifestyle, Christadelphians should be known for their separation from worldly political systems.